The goal of this study was to determine if weight gain during pregnancy has an effect on postpartum depression (PPD). Data were collected in a web survey from 238 women who had recently given birth. The data were analyzed for the total sample and also by body weight category before pregnancy. Findings revealed that weight gain was inversely associated with PPD for the obese women in our sample. For these women, the less weight they gained, the more likely they were to experience PPD. History of depression, partner support, and age were also predictors of PPD.

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This study followed children who participated in a feeding trial in which the type of randomized infant formula fed from 2 weeks significantly affected weight gain velocity during the first 4 months and weight-for-length Z (WLZ) scores up to 11.5 months. We focused on measures of anthropometry, dietary intakes, and parenting related to the provision of snack foods that were collected at the end of the trial (1 year) and the 1.5 years follow-up visit. We not only describe what toddlers are eating, but we also determined the independent and/or interactive effects of randomized formula group, early weight gain velocity, the nutrient content of the post-formula diet, and maternal snack food practices, on toddlers’ weight status. Diet quality underwent drastic changes during this 6-month period. As infant formula disappeared from the diet, fruit and 100% fruit juice intake increased slightly, while intake of “What We Eat in America” food categories sweetened beverages and snacks and sweets more than doubled. Added sugars accounted for 5% of energy needs at 1 year and 9% at 1.5 years. Generalized linear mixed models revealed that, independent of the randomized formula group, greater velocities of weight gain during early infancy and lower access to snacks as toddlers predicted higher WLZ and a greater proportion of toddlers with overweight at 1.5 years. Energy and added sugar intake had no significant effects. These findings add to the growing body of evidence that unhealthy dietary habits are formed even before formula weaning and that, along with improving early diet, transient rapid weight gain and parental feeding practices are modifiable determinants that may reduce risks for obesity.

Objectives For the first time in American history, the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) focus on the diet patterns of children under age two. Given the importance of nutrition in early life, the present study reports on the longitudinal data-derived diet patterns of a racially diverse group of infants from the age of 0.5 months, when they were exclusively formula fed, until 1.5 years. Methods Weighed/measured diet records were obtained monthly from enrollment (0.5 months) to 1 year, and at 1.5 years during a trial on healthy infants who were randomized to one of two isocaloric commercial infant formulas. Diet records were analyzed using Nutrient Data System for Research from which foods and beverages were assigned to mutually exclusive ‘What We Eat in America’ food categories; each infant's intake was standardized (g/kg body weight) at each age. Principal component analysis and scree plot inspection were used to derive diet patterns; an absolute loading of at least 0.2 indicated food categories highly correlated within a diet pattern. Results Over the first 1.5 years, regardless of randomization, four diet patterns were identified. The diet pattern for the vast majority of infants at 4.5–5.5 months consisted of iron-fortified infant formula. At 6.5–7.5 months, two-thirds of infants began to transition to a first foods diet pattern comprised primarily of infant cereals, fruits, vegetables, grain mixed dishes, and potatoes (not fried). Shortly thereafter, two unique diet patterns containing table foods emerged, such that by 1–1.5 years, the diet patterns for the majority included but were not limited to pizza, high sugar cereal, milk, fried foods, bakery products and vegetables. Conclusions Infant diet patterns emerge and transition rapidly. While the pattern for the majority of infants was infant formula at or before 5.5 months, as recommended, the diet patterns that emerged during the next 6–12 months contained foods that the DGA recommends should be limited (e.g., fried foods) or eliminated (e.g., added sugars) for young children, underscoring the urgent need to focus on diet patterns before 2 years. Funding Sources NIH Grants R01HD072307 and R03HD09408.

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